Apparatus for internally coating ringlike objects



y 1944s W.'B.' PETERSON, JR 2,348,495

APPARATUS/I FOR INTERNALLY comma RINGLIKE OBJECTS Filed June 2a, 1943 sSheets-Sheet 1 INVENTbR. W'IL L m MB..PE TERSON, JR.

; A TTORNEY Patented May 9, 1944 APPARATUS FOR INTERNALLY COATINGRINGLIKE OBJECTS William B. Peterson. Jr San Francisco. Calif.,

assignor to Pacific Can Company, San Francisco, Calif.. a corporation ofNevada Application June 28, 1943, Serial No. 492,532

12 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for coating all orpart of the interior of ring-like objects.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a spraying apparatuswhich can be embodied in a can-making machine in such a way as to bereadily removable therefrom and yet, while in place, will receive fromits supporting mechanism the forces necessary to energize the sprayer.

Another object of my invention is to provide in a can body machine aremovable, floating tank over which can bodies can pass and in whichpressure can be maintained by means of intermittently contactingsupporting members.

Another object of my invention is to provide an easily cleaned andreplaceable coating sprayer for incorporation in an apparatus for makingring-like objects.

Another object of my invention is to provide a coating sprayer tankadapted to usev in a can body making machine which usually runs at substantial temperatures and in which there is a minimum of connectionbetween said tank and said body-forming machine, so that heat problemsare avoided in the spraying apparatus.

Another object of my invention is to provide a floating tank adapted tobe supported by intermittently engaging parts through which fluids maybe introduced into the tank.

The above and other objects accomplished by my invention will becomeapparent from the following description. Although my invention isdescribed in connection with a specific form of apparatus as required bystatute, it is not my intention thereby to limit my invention to anyparticular details or form for any of the parts except as required bythe appended claims.

In the drawings,

I Fig. 1 is a View in elevation of my invention with certain of theparts shown in cross section;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view in vertical elevation taken on the lineIIII of Fig. 1, except for the drive belts shown on Fig. 2, which are onthe line IIA-IIA of Fig. 1';

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional View in vertical elevation of the tank andsupporting elements shown.

in more detail than in the left hand side of Fig.1}. Fig. 4 is a view invertical elevation of the tank' and its supporting members shown in moredetail, than on the right hand side of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a crosssectional view of the sprayer head taken on the line V-V of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a crosssectional view taken on the line VI-VI in Fig. 4. iFig. 7 is an alternative form of arrangement of operating and mountingthe supporting tappets and fingers.

My invention is directed to solving the problems arising from the use ofheat-sensitive coating materials around can making machinery which runsat high temperatures, which materials, due to their volatile nature,tend to dry quickly and to plug conduits, etc., unless cleaned orremoved upon any more than usual delay in operation of the machine.

The usual can body making machine includes the forming station and thesoldering station. My invention relates to that part of the machineafter the can body has been soldered and provides means for coating thenewly soldered seam with any desired liquid material. My inventionachieves a result never possible heretofore, namely, the provision of aremovable coating tank or horn which can be readily removed from themachine for cleaning, which floats in its supports without anyinterfering connection with the soldering horn, and which through itsintermittent supports receives the fluid pressures which activate it.

In the drawings, 10 denotes the soldering horn from which can bodies llpass inthe direction of the arrow bymeans of a conveyor l2. The guidechannels l3 support the can bodies II as they pass from thesolderingstation on to the tank 20 for the internal coating operation.

The tank 20 comprises a hollow tank-like member, of any cross sectionalshape, having one or more compartments and on one end a spraying headunit 30.- This tank may be of any desired length depending upon variousthings, such as the amount of coating material which it is desired tokeep in it, or upon the room in the plant, etc. I have found that afloating unit 29 about four feet long will hold sufficient coatingmaterials to run from four to eight hours without refilling or removal.By floating tank is meant one which has no rigid connection with theframe or machine and floats, so to speak, on the inter mittentlyengaging tappets or fingers.

Tank 20 is of a size small enough to clear and not scratch the innersurface. of the can bodies I i. Usually thesebodies are formed up ofcoated or enameled stock so their inside surface is already coatedexcept for the freshly soldered seam. My invention is particularlyadapted to coating this seam area, thereby completing the inner coatingof the can body.

Tank 20 has no connection with the machine or frame except through theintermittently contacting tappets 40 to 49 inclusive on one end.

and 59 to 59 inclusive on the other end. While at each end I have shownfive pairs of tappets or fingers to support the tank, any number may beused, depending upon the axial length of the can bodies passing overtank 26. As shown at the left hand side of Fig. 1, their number must besuilicient so that at least one opposite pair, 44, 49, for example, willbe in supporting contact with tank 20, while the others 45!, 5|, &2, d3,45, 46, 41, 48 are withdrawn to permit the can body I to pass along tank26.

The cam means for actuating-these supporting tappets will be explainedpresently.

Tank 2!! is shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration with achamber 2|, which extends substantially its full length; On its righthand end it terminates in a shallow channel 22 (see Fig. 4) from whencethere are conduits 23 and 2 into a chamber 25 closed by valve 25. Thischamber 2| is the one best adapted to contain the coating material suchas lacquer. It is usually introduced into the tank through a clean-outplug 21 (see Fig. 3). It may be introduced through plug 28 with thespring pressed ball check 29. Preferably the tank 26 is filled while itis out of the machine.

The opening 28 is employed primarily to introduce air pressure intochamber 2| through pipe 6|. The air is used to keep the lacquer underpressure so that it flows to the spraying nozzle when valve 26 isopened. This air pressure is communicated to chamber 2| through uppersupporting tappet 45, which is hollow and in its housing |2| isconnected to a source of air under pressure through hose I116.

Tappet 45 contacts the mating recess in plug 28 during the interval whenthere is no can body I| passing over plug 28. This intermittentconnection between the source of air under pressure and chamber 2| issufficient to keep adequate feeding pressure on the lacquer so that itis fed in constant volume to the spraying head 14.

If desired, more plugs like 28 could be used, but I have found that anintermittent restoration of the air pressure in the lacquer chamber 2|is adequate. For that reason the plugs ite, lla, 48a, and 49a have noopenings in communication with the interior of chamber 2|. On the lowerside of tank 20 plugs 40a, Ma, 32a, Sa, 64a, likewise have no openings,but do each have a tapered face to mate with the supporting face oftappets 40, 4|, 42, 43 and M.

The rod 62, threaded into the right hand end member of tank 20, providesa convenient way for securing the tubular portion 63 of the tank to thetwo ends. These parts can be kept in a tight fit by means of nut 55.When it becomes necessary to clean out the tank more thoroughly than canbe done through plug 21, it is a simple matter to remove nut 64, anddisassemble the tube 63.

The lower supporting tappets 40 to 44, inclusive, are actuated by cams40b, Mb, 42b, 43b, and Mb (see Fig. 1). The upper tappets 45 to 49inclusive are actuated by corresponding cams 45b to 4%, inclusive,identical with cams 40b to Mb. A

.chain 65 connects gear wheels 65 and 6? on shafts 68 and 69respectively, which drive thesecams. In this way the operation oftappets 4e and 45 and each other opposite pair of tappets issynchronized so that they assume in proper time-d se quence the supportof tank as, shown in Fig. 3 for tappets 40 and 45. Any suitable drivebetween shafts 68 and 69 may be employed and the same is true foranyother optional form of cam or eccentric drive to actuate thesupporting tappets.

The right hand or spray head end of'tank 20 has provision for a chamber10, which is in communication with conduits l, 12 and 73, leading to theair jet in spray nozzle 14 to atomize and apply the lacquer.

Other parts of the spray head include the valve stem 75, carrying alacquer valve 26, the amount of opening of which is determined by thecamfaced screw 11 secured in back of the ball faced end 78 of valve stem75. A sprin 19 keeps lacquer valve 25 closed unless the pivoted sprayinglever 80 is depressed, thus actuating forked lever 8!, which in turnbears on nut 82. A suitable adjusting screw 83 is provided in the lowerend of bell crank spray lever 8!] to permit the correct heightadjustment on lever 80 for actuation of the latter by can bodies Ipassing along it, and held in contact with it by means of guide rods l3forming an outside passageway for the can.

. Lever 80 may be of any desired length. Preferably, it is of a lengthsufiicient to be in contact with two can bodies at one time. In this wayif the can body maker should cease operation or should miss supplyingcan bodies II to tank 2 3, the lacquer valve 26 will shut ofi with onlythe loss of the lacquer which would have been applied to one can whenshutting oil and with only a similar loss when the movement of canbodies along tank 20 is again resumed. If lever 88 is only long enoughto be engaged by one can, it would mean that valve 26 would open andclose every time a can body H passed over it. This would meanunnecessary wear on the parts. The loss of lacquer during the normalgaps between the can bodies is not sufiicient to warrant the extra wearand tear on the spray head valves and parts.

In the spray head used in describing this invention the compressed airfor atomization is fed continuously from the jets in M. It is only thelacquer which is controlled by valve 26, and lever 80. Any other type ofapplication means may be secured to tank 20 in lieu of the one shown.

To supply air under pressure continuously to spray jet 14, I provide aplurality of plugs 55a, to 59a, mounted in the spray head end of tank20. These plugs are each provided with tapered recesses 9| having a hole92 in their bottom and outlets 93 so that air forced into the hole 92will pass out openings 93. The spring pressed ball check 94 will checkany outward flow of air from chamber 10. As shown in Fig. 1, I providefor five of these supporting and inlet plugs, although more or less maybe used, depending upon the length of the can body I.

In the lower side of this end of the tank 29 are plugs 50a to 56a. Theseare plain plugs with tapered sides mating with the tapered faces onsupporting tappets 50 to 54 inclusive.

The cam arrangement for bringing each opposite pair of tappets 5055,5|-56, 5'25l, 5358, 5459 into engagement with their respective re cessedplugs in tank 2|! is similar to that already described in connectionwith the tappets shown in the left hand end of Fig. l, and thereforewill not be repeated.

Fig. 2 shows in considerable detail one form of intermittent supportmechanism well adapted to provide for air tank 10 a substantiallyconstant flow of air through intermittent contact of a plurality ofsupport jets 55 to 59 inclusive. It also shows the detail of partsmaking up the support jet 45 on the lacquer end of tank 20.

Air under pressure is conveyed into cam housing or frame I through pipeIn! from any suitable source. maximum lift of rocker arm I02. Tappetplunger I03 is in its position of maximum depression while tappetplunger I24 on the lower side is in its position of maximum lift. At theinstant the:

support members 53 and 58 are supporting the spray head end of tank 20,while at the same} time through upper support jet 58 air chamber isreceiving a flow of air under pressure from the conduit IOI. It will benoted that the check valve 94 is away from its seat. The instant thatCam 58b is shown in its position of,

support jet 58'movesupwardly away from its] tapered seat in plug 58oball check 94 will close opening 92.

As shown in Fig. 2 support jet 58 is in engagev ment with plug 58a andtappet plunger I03 is fully depressed so that valve face I04 has beenlifted from tappet member I05, thereby placing air conduit I 0| incommunication with air cham': ber I0 through flexible tube I06 andconduits I01,

I08 and I09.

Support jet 58 is'slidably mounted in tappet' sleeve I05 and isurged'downwardly by spring I I0- so that the instant cam 58b permitsvalve tappet'. I03 to move upwardly in response to spring I,

spring IIO will close valve I04 on its seat, thus shutting off furtherpassage of air into conduit I09 and serving to maintain pressure in thesup ply conduit IOI There are other forms which this arrangement cantake, the purpose being to provide a quick- 7 operation, or at any othertime, hand nuts I20 are provided in the support housings or frames I00and I2 I By loosening these nuts and swinging their studs I22 outwardly,frames I00 and I2I can be lifted sufficiently around shaft 69 to leavetank'20 clear of any obstruction on the upper side and free to be liftedout of the machine and either replaced therein or another similarelement placed therein.

In Fig, 7, I have shown a modification of the tank supporting means,which in this instance includes the same tappets or fingers 40 to 49 and50 to 59. Instead of mounting them toslide vertically in the endhousings I00 and I2I, they are mounted on the ends of rocker arms 200,20! and are actuated by a double faced cam 202 which moves each pair ofarms 200, 20I, simultaneously,

The valve arrangement I04 in Fig. 2 is also built into the tappets withair jets; for instance, by having the sleeve I05 secured in the end ofarms 200. This will give valve I04 the same action it now has in Fig. 2.

Many other modifications are possible within the scope of the appendedclaims.

, ,In operation my machine thus makes it possible to have a tank ofcoating fluid supported by intermittently engaging tappets so thatsoldered can bodies or other ring-like objects can be passed along thetank by a conveyor and can be sprayed on the inside with the coatingmaterial from the tank by air pressure which is substantiallycontinuously fed into the tank through the supporting tappets.

What I claim is: a

1. In an inside coating mechanism the combination of a frame, aconveying means, a hollow tank of greater length than diameter, andalong which ring-like objects may be conveyed at spaced intervals, asource of air under pressure, a chamber in said tank to hold a coatingmedium, a second chamber in said tank to conduct air under pressure, aspray head carried by said tank and having passageways connecting it toboth the aforesaid chambers, a plurality of openings in said tank withyielding valve means for keeping them closed, a plurality of framemounted supporting means aligned with said openings, some of saidsupporting means also having jets therein in communication with saidsource of air under pressure, means for moving said supporting meansintermittently into andout of contact with said tank in timed relationto said conveying means to allow ring-like objects to be conveyed onto,along and off said tank, and wherein said supporting means with jetshave valves actuated upon contact of each with its respective opening insaid tank, whereby air under pressure is conveyed into said tank asneeded.

2. In an inside coating mechanism the combination of a frame, aconveying means, a hollow tank of greater length than diameter, andalong which ring-like objects may be conveyed at spaced intervals, asource of air under pressure, a chamber in said tank to hold a coatingmedium, a spray head carried by said tank and having passagewaysconnecting it to the aforesaid chamber, a plurality of openings in saidtank with yielding value means for keeping them closed, a plurality offrame mounted supporting means aligned with said openings, some of saidsupporting means also having jets therein in communication with saidsource of air under pressure, means for moving said supporting meansintermittently into and out of contact with said tank in timed relationto said conveying means to allow ring-like objects to be conveyed onto,along and off said tank, and wherein said supporting means with jetshave valves actuated upon contact of each with its respective opening insaid tank, whereby air under pressure is conveyed into said tank asneeded.

3. In an inside coating mechanism the combination of a frame, aconveying means, a hollow tank of greater length than diameter, andalong which ring-like objects may be conveyed at spaced intervals, asource of air under pressure, a chamber in said tank to hold saidcoating me di-um, a second chamber in said tank to conduct air underpressure, a spray head carried by 'said tank and having passagewaysconnecting it to both the aforesaid chambers, a plurality of openings insaid tank with yielding valve means for keeping them closed, a pluralityof frame mounted supporting means aligned with said openings, some ofsaid supporting means also having jets therein in communication withsaid source of air under pressure, means for moving said supportingmeans intermittently into and out of contact with said tank in timedrelation to said conveying means to allow ring-like objects to beconveyed onto, alon and off said tank, said supporting means with jetshaving valves actuated upon contact of each with its respective openingin said tank, whereby air under pressure is conveyed into said tank asneeded, and valve means for setting said spray head in operation orshutting it oif in response to the presence of ringlike objects aroundsaid hollow tank.

4. In a machine for coating the inner surface of tubular members, thecombination of a frame, a floating tank with a smaller diameter thansaid members, a liquid applying means carried by said tank, means onsaid frame for suspending said tank so said members may be passed ontosaid tank at one end and off at the other end without interference with.said means, and means-for inpending means, and means actuated by passageof said tubular members over said tank for activating said coating head.

6. In a machine for spraying the inner surface of ring-like objects thecombination of a frame, a floating tank, a spraying head carriedthereby, a reservoir in said tank in communication with said sprayinghead, a source of air under pressure, and movable means on said framefor supporting said tank at selectively spaced points while spaced apartring-like objects are passed over it from end toend, said meansincluding passageways intermittently connecting said source of airpressure with said tank reservoir to supply spraying pressure to saidhead.

'7. In a machine for spraying the inner surface of ring-like objects,the combination of a frame, a floating tank, a spraying head carriedthere-by, a reservoir'in said tank in communication with said sprayinghead, a source of air under pressure, movable means on said frame forsupporting said tank at selectively spaced points while spaced apartring-like objects are passed over it from end to end, said meansincluding a plurality of passageways, each intermittently connectingsaid source of air pressure with said tank reservoir to supplysubstantially continuous spraying pressure to said head.

8. In a machine for spraying the inner surface of ring-like objects, thecombination of a frame, a floating tank, a spraying head carriedthereby, a reservoir in said tank in communication with said sprayinghead, a source of air under pressure, movable means on said frame forsupporting said tank at selectively spaced points while spaced apartring-like objects are passed over it from end to end, said meansincluding passageways intermittently connecting said source of airpressure with said tank reservoir to supply spraying pressure to saidhead, and valve means actuated by passage of said ringlike objects.along said tankfor activating said spraying head.

9. In acan-body maker including a body blank former, soldering mechanismand conveyor, the combination of a can sprayer which includes a tankmounted in axial juxtaposition with the saddle horn on said body former,a plurality of tappet-fingers intermittently engaging said tank tosupport it in a substantially fixed position while can bodies pass alongit, means for operating said tappets in synchronism with said conveyor,a spray head secured to said tank, a source of air under pressure, valvemeans in certain of said tappets to open only when thelatter is inengagement with said tank, and means for actuating said spray head.

10. In a machine for spraying the inner surface of tubular members, thecombination of a frame, a floating tank with a smaller diameter thansaid members, a spraying head carried by said tank, means on said framefor suspending said tank so said members may be passed onto said tank atone end and off at the other-end without interference with saidsuspending means, means for introducing air pressureinto said tankthrough said suspending means, and means for propelling said membersalong said tank.

11. In a machine for spraying the inner surface of tubular members thecombination of a frame, a floating tank with a smaller diameter thansaid members, a spraying-head carried by said tank, means on said framefor suspending said tank so said members may be passed onto said tank atone end and on at the other end without interference with saidsuspending means, means for introducing air pressure-into said tankthrough said suspending means, and valve means for activating saidspraying head.

12. In a machine for spraying the inner surface of tubular members, thecombination of a frame, a floating tank with a smaller diameter thansaid members, a spraying head carried by said tank, means on said framefor suspending said tank so said members may be passed onto said tank atone end and off at the other end without interference with saidsuspending means, said means including pairs of pivoted rocker arms eachcarrying at one end suspending fingers to engage said tank and at theother end being in contact with a cam which alternately moves each pairof arms into and out of contact with said tank, means for introducingair pressure into said tank through said suspending means, and valvemeans for activating said spraying head.

WILLIAM B. PETERSON, JR.

